The Good, Bad and Ugly from D-backs' Ugly Series Loss to Giants

The Arizona Diamondbacks went into Oracle Park needing at least a series win over the San Francisco Giants to gain some ground in the Wild Card race.

Unfortunately, Arizona was only able to come away with a lone game three win, dropping games one and two to their NL West Rivals.

There certainly were some encouraging performances, but also some poor (and ugly) showings, as well.

Below is the good, bad and ugly from a rough series loss in San Francisco:

Diamondbacks vs Giants: The Good

Eduardo Rodriguez Continues Dominance

Left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez appears to have figured something out. The veteran lefty has had another disappointing season, but the results of his last three starts have simply been excellent.

In Rodriguez's last three starts (18.1 innings) he's allowed one total run, blanking both the Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers for six-plus innings and allowing one run against the Red Sox.

Rodriguez threw 6.1 scoreless frames against San Francisco and did not allow a base hit until the fifth inning, striking out six along the way. He helped drive the D-backs to their only win of the series, and lowered his ERA to 4.98 — below 5.00 for the first time since April 23.

Game Three Infield Defense

Infield defense has been a sore spot for the D-backs lately, as a meltdown inning cost them a win over the Red Sox, and a throwing error by Geraldo Perdomo helped fuel a lopsided loss in game one against the Giants.

But in game three, the infield defense was immaculate, mostly due to the efforts of Blaze Alexander. Alexander made a diving stop, a diving catch and a charging barehanded play, all to preserve Rodriguez's then-no-hitter.

Fellow utility man Tim Tawa, playing first base in the wake of Pavin Smith's and Tyler Locklear's injuries, made two exceptional picks to haul in throws from Alexander.